The World Is Not Enough Essay

2997 words - 12 pages

The World is Not Enough:
Globalization, Guns, and Greed

by Kathryn E Smith

“…trade cannot be maintained without war or war without trade.”[1]
Globalization is defined in many ways, and although it has been expanding and contracting over thousands of years, it has only in the past two centuries become a topic of such interest. Many think of globalization as “primarily a monetary phenomenon,”[2] and although most definitions of globalization do only concern trade, it is more broadly “the process by which different regions of the world affect one another economically, politically, or culturally.”[3] Today, military might is paramount in the expansion of ...view middle of the document...

”[8] This link between war and trade was exemplified in the Opium Wars of the eighteenth century. In 1839 in the wake of an opium epidemic, China implored England to obey Chinese laws and cease trade of opium in China for the sake of its citizens. In the case that England did not comply, a letter from Lin Zexu, a Chinese official, to Queen Victoria notified England that in addition to punishing citizens found in possession of opium, “the penalty [for importing opium] is fixed at decapitation or strangulation. This is what is called getting rid of a harmful thing on behalf of mankind.”[9] When “continued profits by legal and honorable means were simply not possible,” Britain responded with military force to protect its interests. [10]

Even before the Opium Wars, Henry Clay, an American statesman, argued that the United States should develop defense capabilities to prevent further British exploitation. As colonies of the British Empire before gaining independence in 1783, the United States has been on both ends of mercantilist practices. Britain’s treatment of American colonies was much like any other colony - it controlled all trade in the colonies, ensuring that raw materials came from the colonies for manufacture in England, and that the manufactured products returned to the colonies for profit. In this way, the colonies served a dual purpose as supply of raw materials and then supply of market for products abroad. When, even after independence, Britain attempted to control the United States’ commerce by denying it trade with France, the United States became involved in the War of 1812. After successfully defeating the continued British mercantilist practices, Clay supported his argument for U.S. defense capabilities by quoting a British leader, who claimed:

[N]ations knew, as well as [ourselves], what we meant by “free trade” was nothing more nor less than, by means of the great advantage we enjoyed, to get a monopoly of all their markets for our manufactures, and to prevent them, one and all, from ever becoming manufacturing nations.[11]

Clay’s argument proved to be wise. After Britain’s victory in the Opium Wars reestablished the Opium trade, Britain’s hunger for free trade only grew increasingly insatiable, and the War of 1812 was only one example of this. When Indian competition in the cloth industry threatened British East India Company profits in the same way China threatened profits before them, “independent weavers who refused to work for the pitiful wages that the East India Company offered had their thumbs cut off” and factories owned by Indian rivals were destroyed.[12]

In 1798, a critic of contemporary Japanese society, Honda Toshiaki, took note of the continuing pattern of Europe in an effort to mold Japan in a similar fashion. He deliberated and determined that the navigation skills of the European countries made them a naval dominance and a military strength. Furthermore, he felt “their...

Other assignments on The World Is Not Enough

1103 words - 5 pages
consumption of consumers and their economic income is based on the capitalist system. Item A states that the modernisation theory focuses on the development process, as a result it explains why poorer countries have failed to develop and which richer countries benefit due to their economic and social changes. MEDC’s have better communications and this creates a homogeneous future that across the world you can spread social ideas, the advance means that

1542 words - 7 pages
economic assets. In Bangladesh, 60% of the people’s livelihoods are directly linked to land, it is the only major asset held by lower income groups, and allegedly 80% of the country’s lawsuits are linked to land disputes. It is not a coincidence that the leading economies of the world have in place well functioning and reliable land administration systems. It is for these reasons that the present government declared electronic administration of land

665 words - 3 pages
example prisoners in a cave. The conclusion is that cognition comes from the appearance of the world not the reality. According to Plato, there exist two worlds: the real world and a supernatural realm which contains the eternal and perfect Forms. Everything we get from the real world is a reflection of the supernatural hence the essence is invisible. Reason is the only way in which we get the essence of appearance.
Based on Plato’s metaphysics

892 words - 4 pages
with Facebook also expanded their business as well. Facebook has its users all over the world. Except for few countries that Facebook is benned, people have access to it from anywhere in the world. By using PayPal and credit cards, people can play games and send each other virtual gifts on Facebook. Because Facebook is for people who are older than 13, some users are not old enough to get credit cards. By using PayPal, people do not need to have

321 words - 2 pages
e need a president who is not only popular in the US but around the world in order to have better relations with other countries. Iran is still a viable threat, with possible nuclear weapons being developed there. As I write this essay, American troops continue to fight in the longest war in US history. Afghanistan reminds me a little of Vietnam; troops would hear of peace talks and be told there will be no conflict as the war will die down and

1055 words - 5 pages
is salt water; only 2.5% of this is fresh water, 0.26% of accessible fresh water.”(Sustainable World, 2003:4) Another problem is the increasing requirement of water. There is no doubt that human and animals can’t live without water. For instance people will die if there is not enough water, as well as animals. The speed of population has been enlarged in recent years, which is not a good thing. “By the year 2025, the global demand for water is

622 words - 3 pages
I am doing it now because finally I have enough experience working, I am more mature, and I have saved enough money.
My goal in this essay is to help you understand why I am in Strayer University of Washington, DC to do my MBA. Before I explain my reasons, maybe I should explain why I am doing this now. Why now and why not before? I am doing it now because finally I have enough experience working, I am more mature, and I have saved enough money

1024 words - 5 pages
about angels and the end of the world. She manages to escape but not without being infected with the mass hysteria. I believe this is when Marisol begins to slip through a different reality. There is a theory of alternate realities which indicates that there is a thin fabric of reality similar to our own but each reality branches off and continues on another path based on decisions made in our life. Since there is a war between God and the angels

578 words - 3 pages
Is production important?
For many years it has been common sense in mngmt to consider production as sth that is not strategic,
can be easily outsourced, not relevant if it does not give competitive advantage compared to your
competitors --> but we have now China, which is the "plant of the entire world" --> recent interview of
new CEO of Apple: he was asked why he was producing in China (main supplier is Foxcon) and don't
come back to

1038 words - 5 pages
Serbia has enough gaps in its economy to be corrected. Corruption remains one of the most problematic issues in the country. Minimum wages are very low (although in this case, the company benefits from wage rates). Index of economic freedom is still not as positive as it should be, which is very important in this case. Also the situation with fiscal freedom may have not the most positive impact on doing business. However, some indicators of the

457 words - 2 pages
. People in the advertisement world know how to manipulate words so that their products are shown in the best light even though the results could be not as positive as they state. Product advertisement can be misleading because many products do not actually do what the advertisement says it will do. Advertising is all about profit and who is creative enough to come up a slogan or jingle to sell the product to the believable consumer.

Similar Documents

1399 words - 6 pages
as a sure thing to make it on the college level. It is really sad when only a couple of these kids even go to college, while most end up working entry level jobs like Price Chopper, gas stations, and fast food. Even if a student athlete is talented enough to play at the next level they still need to focus on their education. Parents, teachers, and coaches should stress the importance of education because the future is not just a game.
Parents

593 words - 3 pages
1. Is the Mystery Man with Twenty-One faces a great criminal? Why or why not?
Great criminals are those who threaten the laws of a sovereign. Laws only serve as vulnerable limitations, to which criminals seek to surpass. German Philosopher Walter Benjamin suggests that the law breaking tendencies of criminals create admiration and envy amongst the public. In the case of the mystery man with twenty faces, the popularity their crimes garnered

797 words - 4 pages
Is Islam a religion of violence or non-violence? An examination of
misconceptions in the Western World?
The world is full of acts of violence and acts of peace and non violence. We as people try to comprehend these acts by establishing whys. The why that we will examine is one of consistent misunderstanding and misrepresentation specifically in the Western world. When a

1855 words - 8 pages
What is the role of institutions according to North? How far does this theory go towards explaining the contours of world development in the pre-modern growth era?
Maddison (2006) stated that he “would characterise the whole period 1000-1820 as ‘protocapitalist’”. He believes the transition from pre-modern to modern economic growth took place at around 1820. This will set the stage for this discussion. Within that period, there were two groups